Kuchinawa Strikes Back!
by Noishe
Summary: The party camps out, and Kuchinawa pays a visit to their camp! Ahhh! R&R PLEASE! ZelosXSheena
1. Chapter 1

**Kuchinawa Strike Back!**

Disclaimer: I do not own Tales of Symphonia or any characters related to it.

The sun was out, full force. Zelos looked up into the cloudless sky; his eyes grew brighter as he did so. "This must be heaven…", he said to himself quietly. The grass was still wet with dew; he felt it with his toes. He looked off into the distance and sat down. There were endless acres of this same soft, wet, bright green grass all around him, although the solid color was broken by a few colorful tents dotting the horizon. He sat for a long while, thinking about all the things he has been through.

Zelos sighed. "Maybe I should head back. I'm getting hungry."

It took him a few minutes to get back to the campsite. When he arrived, the smell of food was in the air.

"Oh, hey, Genis! Watcha cooking?"

"Just some waffles… Again…", Genis said with an annoyed sound to his voice.

"Waffles! Awesome!", Zelos said cheerfully.

"I knew you would say that."

"Tell me when they're done!"

"Yeah, whatever."

Zelos ran off to one of the tents. He scratched the side of the tent with his fingernail, making a high-pitched noise.

"Sheena! You awake?"

He heard rustling coming from inside.

"Sheena!"

She groaned.

"Oh, come on. The sun has been up for hours!"

Again, he heard more rusting. Within a few minutes, Sheena emerged from the tent completely dressed.

"Rise and Shiiine, beautiful!"

"Save it for when I actually care, Zelos."

"Awwww… Don't be like that this early in the morning!"

Sheena mumbled incoherently and walked off.

"Where're you going?"

"Breakfast…"

"It's not done yet."

"I know."

"So you're just leaving me here all alone?"

"Yes..."

She turned around. Zelos had the most innocent look on his face. She knew how she felt about him. It was too hard for her to tell him about it. He always said little things that made her feel that he cared for her… She had always pushed him away. She rejected those little remarks. But, she never knew what to think of them. She always thought he was never serious about anything he said. Should she start taking everything he said sincerely? This was one of the toughest things that was, and has been, floating around in her mind for a very long time.

"Zelos… I--…"

"What? You what?"

Sheena let out a sigh.

"N-Nothing… It's nothing."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"If you insist…"

Zelos looked into her light brown eyes. They were almost liquid-looking… He knew something was on her mind. If it was the same thing that was on his… He thought about it. No. That can't be right. She never acted that way towards him, not once. Even with this doubt on his mind, Zelos walked towards her involuntarily. He couldn't help it. He got about a yard's distance from her, until…

"Zelos..?" she said after a sharp intake of breath.

He stopped in his tracks. There was a pause.

"Wh-What are you--?"

"U-Uhhh… Sh-Sheena?" He scratched his head.

Her eyes got a little bigger, since she still had her feelings for him on her mind.

"I----… I don't know how to say this… Umm, I just wanted to tell you--"

"T-Tell me what, Zelos?"

"That I--"

A loud, shrill voice came from a distance.

"THE WAFFLES ARE **READYYYYY**!"

Zelos stopped talking, and started again with a completely different tone to his voice.

"You hungry?"

Sheena snapped out of her train of thought.

"You betcha."

"Waffle time!"

Sheena forced a smile onto her face. "_What was he going to say…?"_ she thought to herself.

They walked back to the cooking area together.

"Hey! Woah! Why are you two walking together? That doesn't happen often." Genis said, astonished.

"No reason." They both said simultaneously.

"Right… Waffles?" He held out two big plates to them.

They each took a plate.

"Alright… Three for Miss Sheena!" Genis said as he plopped three steaming waffles onto her plate.

"And none for the former Chosen of Tethe'alla! Have a nice day!" He said with a stupid grin on his face.

Zelos' eyes widened with anger.

"I WAS KIDDING! GEEZ! TOUCHY, TOUCHY!" Genis angrily put three waffles on his plate also.

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Genis then took a plate for himself, putting two waffles on it. A couple of minutes later, he looked up from his breakfast, which was less than halfway finished.

"Woah! Zelos! You're done!"

"Yeah…?"

"You want some more?"

"No! I'm full!"

Genis raised an eyebrow.

"You're sooo weird…"

Zelos picked up a stray spatula and threw it at Genis' head.

"You little brat…"

"HEY! THAT HURT!"

Sheena laughed silently as she watched Zelos and Genis argue. They were both so silly…

"Y'know what! That's what you get for calling me WEIRD, and for not giving me any waffles at first!"

"I GAVE them to you, DIDN'T I! And you are weird…" A bump appeared on Genis' head from where the spatula hit.

Zelos looked at the bump.

"You SO deserved that."

"No, I didn't! I JUST said you were weird, okay! I didn't hurt you!"

"Yeah, yeah…"

Zelos got up from where he was sitting. He seemed mad at something other than what Genis had done.

"I think I'll go for a walk, now… Alone."

"Wha--? Oh---Well, okay, Zelos." Sheena said, noticing the angry quality to his voice.

He immediately set off walking in a completely random direction.

"Just make sure… You can find your way back…" Sheena said in a very soft voice. She thought he wouldn't be able to hear it.

Zelos turned around.

"I will."

And with that, he whipped back around and walked into the rolling hills of grass.

That's chapter one! I'm adding more. Hope you all like it!


	2. Chapter 2

It was dinner time. Everyone sat by the fire, and Genis cooked dinner again. Raine was watching him.

"Hey, little brother? Why don't you ever let me cook dinner, huh?"

"Ummmm…" Genis' eyes got wider. He knew if he said something about her cooking, he would have a brand new bump appear on his head.

"Yes…?"

"Well, it's obviously because--" Genis looked to the others for support. They all had equally frightened looks on their faces.

"It's obviously… Because… Oh, face it, Raine! None of these people want to eat your cooking!"

Raine immediately turned to everyone in the camp, completely loosing focus on Genis. Genis wiped the sweat off of his forehead.

"WHY DON'T ANY OF YOU LIKE MY COOKING! IT'S GOOD, ISN'T IT!" Raine screamed at the top of her lungs.

Collette spoke up.

"W-Well, it's not that your cooking is bad… It's just that you cook things that smell funny! I don't know about you guys, but I think her cooking smells funny! And, really, it's not just because of the way you cook it, it's the kinds of foods that you cook. If you learn to cook something that we all would like---…"

Collette stopped talking when she saw the look on Raine's face. It wasn't pretty. Raine started talking in a very uneven voice.

"And what do you propose… I should COOK!"

"Spaghetti?"

"Hmmm…Okay!"

"Uhh… Maybe tomorrow night, though… Genis already started…"

Raine protested for a long time, but was eventually calmed by the group.

"Okay! Dinner's done!" Genis shouted, trying to ignore the angry look Raine shot at him.

One by one, Genis handed everyone dinner. He reached Sheena last.

"Oh, Genis… It's okay. I'm not hungry."

"What?"

Sheena grew silent, and she stared off into the distance.

"Okay, Sheena… I'll leave you alone."

What she was doing was worrying about Zelos. He still wasn't back, and it was starting to get dark. There were dangerous monsters still lurking about, what if one were too much for him to handle? What if he was lost? Thirsty… Hungry…

Zelos was sitting by a river. His head was buried in his knees, which were pulled closely to his body. He lifted his head up, and looked at his soaking wet knees. The thing that was on is mind was, of course, Sheena. He didn't know how she felt about him… He had all these feelings inside of him, and was too scared to let them out. To tell her about it. And he hated Genis immensely, and not for just the childish things he did at breakfast.

"I had finally built up the courage… Genis had to go and ruin it!"

It started to get dark, and Zelos still sat by the river. His eyes grew heavy, and he was soon too tired to think about such unsettling things. He lay down on the ground with a thud, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

Now Sheena was REALLY worried about Zelos. He still hadn't come back after a full day of "going for a walk".

"I shouldn't worry about him like this… He can take care of himself… Everything's under control. He's fine… He's FINE."

She said these things to try to comfort herself, but it wasn't working at all. With much persuasion from the rest of her friends, she was sent to bed, and it took her a long time to fall asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

The sun had just risen, and Sheena awoke to a familiar sound. The same one Zelos had made just the day before, the scratching noise on the side of her tent. She couldn't help but smile. _"He came back!"_ She thought happily. She couldn't wait to see him, since she had been so worried about him all last night. She quickly got dressed, and stepped out of the tent.

"I'll go around the tent the other way. That'll surprise him!" Sheena whispered to herself. She was so happy he returned, she didn't care what he thought of her.

She reached the back of the tent. She jumped out from behind it and faced the side where she heard the scratching.

"Zelos? Awww, man! He caught onto me!"

She walked forward, wondering where he was. A voice came from behind her.

"Guess who?"

The voice wasn't Zelos' at all… Her eyes got bigger.

"Ku----!"

Sheena felt a sharp pain on the back of her neck. She felt herself falling, but her vision blacked out before she hit the ground.

Ooh, the suspense…. I'll finish it soon, don't worry.


	4. Chapter 4

Back at the river, Zelos had just awoken. And as he sat up, rubbing his eyes, he had an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Oh, wow, I stayed here over-night? I really should head back. Sheena's probably worried…"

With those words still lingering, he looked down at his feet.

"No, wait…. She's probably happy I'm not there to bother her."

The uneasy feeling came back.

"Oh, fine, I'll go back. Maybe she even missed me…"

He stood up, stretched his arms and legs, and started heading back to camp. As he was walking, his eyes stayed looking dead forward, they looked unfocused and sad. After an hour or so, he finally reached the camp. When he saw everyone sitting together, talking, all with their heads facing the ground, he asked the first thing that came to his mind.

"Where's Sheena?"

Collette turned around, her eyes filled with tears that were also dripping down her face. Zelos' expression turned from sadness to complete surprise.

"Sh-She… She just disappeared! We have all been looking everywhere for her. She never said anything about leaving…So we assumed---…"

"Assumed what!"

"That she's been… Kidnapped!"

Zelos collapsed into a kneeling position, still keeping his eyes on Collette.

"Wh-What! Who could've---?"

"That's what we are trying to figure out."

"There were no clues left to help us out." Raine said.

"NONE!"

"Hey, Zelos…" Genis said.

"What!" said Zelos, obviously annoyed.

"I don't think you realize how sad Sheena was when you just left her here all day yesterday. She flat-out refused to go to bed without knowing where you were, and it took us a long time to get her into her tent. And I wouldn't be surprised if she barely got any sleep."

Zelos stared at Genis. She really… missed him?

"Oh… Maybe I shouldn't have…"

How stupid! He was gone ALL day. If he hadn't left yesterday and stayed in the middle of nowhere overnight, Sheena wouldn't be in this mess. It was all his fault.

"Even though there isn't much hope… We sent Regal to continue to look for clues." Raine said.

"Regal?"

"Yeah, no one else would do it."

"Talk about desperate…"

(Note: I like making Regal act really insane! REGAL SMEAGOL!)

Zelos looked over to Sheena's tent. Regal was running around it in circles like a maniac. Then, all of a sudden, he started sniffing on the ground like a dog.

"What the heck…" Zelos said, annoyed.

"Who knows? Maybe he's found something…" Genis said.

"Yeah, and my name is Santa Claus."

Regal started digging frantically in the ground. He grabbed something shiny with his mouth and started running towards the group.

"REGAL HAS FOUND SOMETHING!" Regal said in a muffled voice.

"Ho, ho, ho, Zelos!" Genis said with a huge grin on his face.

"Shut it…"

"What is it, Regal?" Raine said as she stood up.

"Mine."

"Regal, give Raine the---" Zelos said.

"_Mine_!"

"Now... Be a good monkey and give Raine---"

"Miine!"

"DAMMIT, REGAL! GIVE RAINE THE CLUE!"

"IT'S MIIIINE! I FOUND IT!"

"REGAAAL!" Zelos said as he stood up and started running to him.

"Regal. Drop it." Presea said. (Hey… Where'd she come from?)

"B-But…"

"DROP. IT."

Regal whined, and dropped the shiny clue. Raine immediately ran over to it and picked it up.

"It's---!" Raine said as she held it out for everyone to see.

"It's one of Kuchinawa's daggers… No doubt." Said Zelos, staring at the weapon.

"Does that mean he kidnapped her?" Genis asked.

"No, DUH GENIS!" Zelos yelled angrily.

"Hey, now…" Raine said still looking very intently at the dagger. "Maybe we should pay a visit to Mizuho."

"Yeah! RIGHT NOW!" Zelos screamed.

"Yep. Let's get the Rheairds…"

Just as Raine finished that statement, Zelos was running towards the Rheairds. He quickly hopped onto one, and started flying off.

"WAIT A SECOND!" They all yelled at him as they walked to their Rheairds.

"Come on… Come on!"

As soon as everyone was on their vehicle, they flew off to Mizuho.

I'm workin' on the rest of it! I hope you all are enjoying this.


	5. Chapter 5

They finally arrived after a very long and windy flight. Raine's hair was all messed up, and she was furiously swiping at it with her hands trying to fix it.

"GAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

"Raine… Settle down..." Genis said.

"Ohhhh, alright…" Raine sighed.

"Your hair's FINE." Zelos said, annoyed. "OKAY! Let's find her! NOW!"

"You seem… Anxious." Genis replied.

"Well, yeah! I mean… I lo---" Zelos stopped in the middle of the sentence.

"What?"

"Nothing..."

"Zelos…"

"We REALLY need to find her! Kuchinawa could be hurting her!"

"Yeah, we should try Orochi's! He's bound to know something about this."

With that said, they all headed for Orochi's house, hoping he would have some clues to where Kuchinawa brought Sheena. Zelos reached the door, and knocked on it.

Zelos waited for a minute or two. No one answered. He knocked again.

"Hello? Is anyone there?"

He grew impatient, and decided to open the door. He took one step into the house, and saw something he didn't expect.

"Orochi!"

Orochi was tied up to a chair with rope, and had another piece of rope covering his mouth. Zelos ran to him.

"What? Orochi! What happened?"

There were tears streaming down his face, and were getting soaked up by the rope that was tied around his mouth. Blood was dripping onto the floor. Zelos quickly cut the rope so he could speak. Orochi let out a gasp when there was nothing covering his mouth.

"Are you okay?" Zelos said, nervously.

"Ku-Ku-… He…" said Orochi in an uneven voice.

"Why are you bleeding!"

"He--- Kuchinawa--- made me…Tell…"

"Tell what?"

"He… Tortured—me…" Orochi said as he struggled to move his hands, which were bound together.

"O-Oh, lemme help you with that..." Zelos said as he walked to the back of the chair.

Zelos knelt down to free Orochi's hands.

"Wh-What did he--!"

Blood was seeping from underneath three of the fingernails of his right hand, which were slightly pulled up from the skin. Kuchinawa obviously tortured him to find something out…

"What did he want you to tell him?"

"He—" Orochi stopped talking. His head dropped and fell to one side.

"Orochi!" Zelos yelled and came from behind the chair. He examined him, he had just fainted. As Zelos began untying him, he looked up. In the doorway, all of the party was watching, all silent, and all with pale faces.

"Well, I should try to bring him back to normal. Otherwise, I'll have to decipher all of these riddles he's telling me now." Zelos said.

Raine stepped inside first.

"We should get him some food and tea. That should relax him."

"Yeah…" Zelos said, concentrating on the rope that had Orochi tied to the chair. When he had finally untied him, he brought him over to the bed and placed him on it. Raine went into the kitchen to make tea and food. Genis rushed into the house.

"Hey, Raine? Maybe I should--"

Raine hissed.

"AHHH! Hey! Raine! Come on! You don't want to kill him, do you?"

"WHY WOULD I KILL HIM!"

"With your… Cooking? Uhhh…. Oops…..H-Hey! WAIT! RAINE!"

Raine picked him up and sat down in the chair.

"You need a spanking…"

"NOOOOO!"

Wham. Wham. Wham. Wham. Wham. Wham.

Pretty soon, Genis was in tears. While Raine was distracted, Collette had taken the job of cooking. Raine didn't seem to notice…. Until…

"Okay, the soup's done, Zelos!"

"WHAT SOUP!" Raine said, just becoming aware that Collette was cooking.

"Uh oh…"

"I thought I was cooking the food."

"Well… Y'see... Uhhh…" Collete said uneasily. "You seemed kinda busy, and we really need to get Orochi back to normal."

"Oh! Is that it?"

"Y-Yes! It is!" Collette said, surprised that Raine bought it.

"Well, okay! I'll make the tea, then!"

"Oh, God…"

Regal barged into the kitchen.

"CAN I HELP!"

Everone stared.

"W-Well…" Collette said. "No."

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!"

"OH ALRIGHT! IF YOU SHUT UP!"

"Yay!"

Regal ran to the stove and pulled out a pot from one of the cabinets. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a moldy piece of cheese.

"Hey, Regal? What're you gonna do with that---" Collette said.

He dumped the cheese into the pot, and turned the stove on. It sizzled and soon the smell of rotten cheese filled the kitchen.

"You're not going to actually… Make him… _Eat_ that…. Are you?"

"It's smells delicious, no?"

"Uhhh… No. Seriously, that will probably kill him."

"WHAT DO YOU KNOW!"

"I know that THAT particular piece of cheese probably has enough bacteria living in it to kill an elephant… Probably several."

"WELL, I NEVER!" Regal yelled, and took the boiling pot of moldy cheese off the stove.

"You know what! If you don't like it, I'll eat it myself!"

"Regal--!"

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!" Regal said as he poured the boiling cheese into his mouth.

"Doesn't that hurt---!"

"Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!"

"Whatever…"

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Ha! More is coming!


	6. Chapter 6

Raine, while Regal enjoyed his cheese, had made some tea.

"Hey! Does anyone wanna try my tea---?"

"NO!" They all yelled.

"Wha! Oh, come on! Just try it…"

When no one else offered to try the radioactive tea, Genis decided that he should go for it.

"Oh, all right, Raine… I'll try some."

"YAAAAY!"

Raine handed him a cup, and Genis took a sip, reluctantly.

"O-Oh my GOD, RAINE! WHAT DID YOU PUT IN THIS!"

"Oh! Oh, no, Genis! Are you okay!" Collette said, running to him.

"No! IT'S REALLY GOOD!"

"What?" Collette asked, surprised.

"REALLY!" Raine yelled. A huge, psychotic grin stretched across her face.

"Y-Yeah! It's the best tea I've ever tasted!"

All of the party was staring at Genis, astounded.

"Wow, Raine! What's your secret ingredient?" Collette asked.

"Uhhhh… I didn't do anything special… I just followed the directions on the box!"

"Y'mean you used tea bags…?"

"Yeah!"

"Well, that doesn't take a lot of talent! I mean, all you have to do is---"

"HEY! I PUT HONEY IN IT!"

"Big whoop."

Raine's face turned red (RRRRRRREB!) and smoke came out of her ears.

"Raine, don't kill her!" Genis yelled, running to Raine and trying to restrain her.

After they all settled Raine down, Collette brought the soup to Orochi's bed. Zelos got a towel, wet it with cold water, and placed it on Orochi's forehead. They all waited until he awoke. Pretty soon, Orochi's eyes opened slightly. They opened completely when he saw all of the people in his house.

"What're you all doing here!"

"We're looking for Sheena." Zelos replied.

"Sheena? Why isn't she with you?"

"She was kidnapped."

"Kuchinawa…. I knew he was up to something like that."

"Do you know where he took her!" Zelos' voice became more and more emotional as he spoke.

"He took her to a horrible place… A very horrible place, indeed. He couldn't get in by himself, so he hurt me… So I would tell him."

"What kind of a place is this!"

"It's been kept a secret for a very long time. We try to hide it."

"What is---!"

"It's a Torture Chamber."

Zelos' eyes widened.

"Wh-Why would something like that be in Mizuho in the first place?"

"During the Kharlan War, it was used to make prisoners of war… Talk. It's been here for a long time, but we try to hide it. I am the only one in the village who knows how to open the seal. Well, I was."

"Kuchinawa made you tell?"

"Precisely."

"Why would he want to torture Sheena?"

"I wouldn't know that. Do you think he has a reason to?"

Kuchinawa… Did he know? How? Does he love her, too? Why would he do something so cruel if he did…?

"That jerk…!"

"What?" Orochi said, confused.

"M-Maybe… It's because… Damn it, I need to help her!" Zelos said, running towards the door.

"Wait! I need to tell you where the entrance is!"

"Okay! Where! Do I need the 'password' thing?"

"No, it's probably still open. And it's right behind this house."

After Orochi spoke these words, Zelos ran right out of the front door and around the house. There was an open trapdoor, and Zelos ran straight to it. He looked down to see very steep steps, and a darkness that seemed never-ending. He felt his side to make sure his sword was there, and proceeded down the steps.

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Cliffy! I'm working on the next chapter right now, and I'll have it up very soon.


	7. Chapter 7

As he walked down the gloomy hallways, the steps became more and more steep. The air also gradually filled with moisture as he walked. It seemed this place had been here for a very long time. After Zelos had been walking for an hour or so, the long tunnel started to look like it would end. Zelos began to run, and stopped abruptly at the end of the hallway, peering into the huge open space that now lay right before him.

Zelos could barely believe his eyes. Even though the room was dimly lit, he could still see various machines of torture lining the walls. He didn't want to look at them, because they had caused thousands of people so much pain. And now it would cause the only person in the world he really cared about pain, or even her death.

"SHEENA?" Zelos yelled desperately.

Kuchinawa, who was standing on the opposite side of the room, turned around to face him.

"Ah, we've been expecting you." He said.

Zelos turned to face Kuchinawa after he heard his voice. His eyes immediately shot to Kuchinawa's left, to where Sheena was. She was sitting in a chair, tied to it in the same way that Orochi was. Rope was also covering her mouth. Zelos quickly ran closer to her.

"Sh-Sheena! I'll save you, don't worry---!"

"Not so fast." Kuchinawa said, zipping in front of Zelos and stopping him dead in his tracks.

"Let me go, you little---" Zelos said, reaching for his sword.

Kuchinawa grabbed his hand.

"Why are you doing this to her?" Zelos asked, out of breath.

"Because…" Kuchinawa said calmly.

Before Zelos could do anything, Kuchinawa quickly pulled out a rope and tied his hands together. Then he pushed Zelos over, and quickly tied his feet together.

"HEY! Why the hell? LET ME GO!" Zelos screamed, now on the ground.

"I will, after I see your face…"

"What?" Zelos said, sitting up.

"After I do this…" Kuchinawa said as he pulled out one of his daggers.

"What're you gonna do with---?"

Kuchinawa started walking towards Sheena. Sheena's eyes filled with horror as she kept them on the dagger. A small, muffled whimper came from her.

"NO! PLEASE! DON'T DO ANYTHING TO HER!" Zelos screamed, his face filled with fear.

There's the face I was talking about… It's priceless!" Kuchinawa laughed.

"Why are you even doing this? It doesn't make any sense!"

Kuchinawa's face changed from a demonic smile to a frown.

"You really don't get it, do you?" Kuchinawa said.

"Get what?"

"Ugh, you're hopeless."

"Just tell me, please! I'll do anything to save her!"

The grin came back.

"_Anything_?"

"Yes!"

"Okay!" Kuchinawa said, putting the dagger back. Both Zelos and Sheena relaxed a little.

"Let me have Sheena, then!" Kuchinawa said.

Zelos looked at him with complete surprise this time. Sheena looked down at the ground.

"Wha--?" Zelos said. "Is that what this is all about? How did you find out---?"

Kuchinawa walked towards Zelos.

"You see… One day, Sheena came back to visit Mizuho, and when she saw me, we decided to talk for a bit."

_Flashback._

"Oh, hey, Kuchinawa!" Sheena said, cheerfully.

"Ah, I've been meaning to talk to you."

"Really?"

"Yes."

"Okay, what about?"

"About your friends… From that journey that you got yourself tied up in."

Sheena started to become a little suspicious.

"What about them?"

"Well, what do you think of them?"

"Oh, well, they're all really nice!"

"Hey, what about that red-haired one? Every time I saw you with that group of people, you were always standing right next to him."

"I-I was?" Sheena blushed and looked down at the ground.

Kuchinawa's eyes narrowed.

"I knew it…" He said.

"What?" She looked up, surprised.

"You really do love him, don't you?"

"Wh-What? Well… I dunno..."

"I thought-- you loved…Me."

"Oh, Kuchinawa…!"

Before she could say anything else, Kuchinawa ran off.

"I had no idea…" She said to herself.

_End Flashback._

"That's when I found out that she loved you." Kuchinawa said.

"But--!"

"If I can't have her, no one else can!"

"So you're basically saying… You're torturing her, because you love her?" Zelos said, tears streaming down his face.

"Y-You don't understand!"

"That's so selfish!"

"SHUT UP!" Kuchinawa screamed at him.

Zelos stopped talking.

"If you don't let me have her, she's dead!" Kuchinawa said, pulling out the dagger again. They both stiffened.

"But--! Please! I love her…!"

Kuchinawa's eyes filled with anger.

"That's it---!" Kuchinawa yelled, and ran towards Sheena. She became stiff again, and her eyes filled with fear.

"NO!" Zelos said, trying desperately to stand.

Kuchinawa brought the dagger to her arm. The cold blade touched her skin, and she jerked away from him. The ropes held her in the same spot.

"Kuchinawa---!"

Kuchinawa gently pushed on the blade, and blood dripped down Sheena's arm. Sheena closed her eyes and screamed, and her voice was again muffled by the rope tied around her mouth. Her face soon became wet with tears.

"OH MY GOD! PLEASE! STOP! Zelos screamed, crying hysterically. He frantically pulled on the ropes tying his limbs together.

Kuchinawa lifted the blade.

"Then let me have her!"

Zelos stopped trying to escape.

"Okay… Just stop hurting her." He said.

Kuchinawa smiled.

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How's Zelos gonna get out of this one, I wonder? Hmmm, I guess you'll just have to see!


	8. Chapter 8

"Are you sure, Zelos?"

"Y-Yes. As long as you don't hurt her anymore… And you let me go."

"Fine. I'm glad you finally got some sense knocked into you, eh?"

Zelos was silent. Kuchinawa walked over to Zelos to free him.

"Oh, and no funny business, or the deal's off."

"Sure."

After Zelos was untied, Kuchinawa started to walk to Sheena, still keeping his eyes on Zelos. When he reached her, he started concentrating on untying her.

Zelos took this distraction and pulled out his sword. If he was fast enough, maybe he could beat Kuchinawa. It was risky, but he believed he could pull it off. He silently made his way towards Kuchinawa.

"I said…" Kuchinawa said quietly.

How did he hear him?

"No funny business!" Kuchinawa turned around to face him. And before Zelos could react, Kuchinawa had pulled out the dagger and was running towards him.

"Ahhh--!" Zelos said, only able to move to the right slightly before Kuchinawa stabbed him with the dagger. The dagger had gone completely through his left arm. Blood began to run all around his arm, dripping onto the ground. Sheena screamed a muffled "Zelos!", but no one heard.

"Well, well, well, you're faster than I thought. That would've been a death blow if--"

Zelos picked up his right hand, which still had the sword in it, and swung it at Kuchinawa. Kuchinawa's eyes flicked sideways at the sword, and he zipped backwards, but not quite fast enough. The sword left a long cut on Kuchinawa's left forearm.

"Damn…"

"I'm not letting her go without a fight."

"Very well… I need a weapon, though."

Zelos still had the dagger in his arm.

"Then come and get it."

Kuchinawa glared at Zelos, and then he ran towards him. Zelos held his sword out to block him. When Kuchinawa reached him, Zelos swung his sword, but Kuchinawa blocked the blade with his already hurt left arm, and put this right hand on the handle of the dagger. Zelos winced with pain.

"I'll be needing this." Kuchinawa said, and pulled his dagger out of Zelos' arm. Zelos screamed in agony as the razor sharp dagger came out of his flesh. Sheena let out another muffled scream. Just then, Zelos almost blacked out from the pain, and wobbled to the side a little. Kuchinawa took this as an advantage, and tried to stab Zelos with the dagger, but Zelos recovered and blocked the dagger with his sword. The sound of the two metal objects scraping against each other made Sheena close her eyes.

"Finally… A worthy opponent. I've been waiting for so long…" Kuchinawa said with a smile.

Zelos flung his sword forward at Kuchinawa again, and Kuchinawa blocked it with his dagger. This went on for a long time. They were both very skilled, and their movements seemed to be choreographed. After a while, though, Zelos started to get the upper-hand. He wasn't just fighting for his own life, but also for the happiness of Sheena's.

"Can't---Keep---up!" Kuchinawa said, breathing heavily. Zelos struck Kuchinawa's right shoulder with his sword, and it stayed there. Kuchinawa yelled out in pain.

"D-Damn you!"

Kuchinawa took his dagger and tried to stab Zelos' right arm, which was still holding onto the sword. Zelos quickly pulled the sword out, and dodged the dagger by ducking down. Then, he took his right leg and swung it at Kuchinawa's legs. Kuchinawa fell, and lost his grip on the dagger, which flew across the room. Zelos quickly got up, and placed one foot on Kuchinawa's back. He was pushed against the ground, defenseless.

"O-Okay…" Kuchinawa gasped.

"You surrender Sheena right now, or I'll kill you."

"Fine—Fine… You can have her."

Zelos lifted his foot, and let Kuchinawa get up. Kuchinawa glared at him.

"Oh, and no funny business, or the deal's off!" Zelos said mockingly.

Kuchinawa snorted.

"And I'm keeping my eye on you, so you better not fall behind, or run ahead. Can't take any more chances."

With that, Zelos walked off towards Sheena, with Kuchinawa slowly following him. He reached her, and smiled. She stared back up at him, her eyes filled with tears. She was smiling, but even though Zelos couldn't see it through the rope, he knew. Zelos went to the back of the chair, and began untying the knots that bound her.

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YAY! I'm gonna write one more chapter, it'll be the conclusion. GO ZELOS!


	9. Chapter 9

"Y'know, it's a lot harder to untie knots when you can only use one hand. Thanks a lot, Kuchinawa."

Kuchinawa was so exhausted from the fight that he didn't even have enough energy to argue.

"Could you give me a hand, then?"

Unwillingly, he limped to where Zelos was, and helped untie with the only hand that he could use.

"There, we got this one." Zelos said, pulling off the rope that bound Sheena to the chair. As soon as she could, she stretched her arms. They had been in the same position for a very long time.

"Okay… Now the feet." Zelos said, moving around the chair to untie the rope binding Sheena's feet. Zelos reached over to untangle the rope, and Sheena reached down to help. With her help, the knot was undone very quickly. As soon as she was free, she stood up. Zelos stood up, also.

"Alright! Now all we gotta do is your mouth---"

Sheena rushed over to Zelos, and wrapped both arms around him. She buried her head into his shoulder, and sobbed. Zelos then hugged her with his right arm, and a tear slid down his face. After a while, he let go.

"W-Well, let's get that rope out of your face…" Zelos said as he went behind Sheena to undo the rope tied around her mouth. He struggled with it for a bit.

"Kuchinawa, can you help me, here?" Zelos said, looking over to him.

Kuchinawa's head was tilted forward, and the ground below him was wet with tears. He had been watching them. Another tear dripped down when he looked up at Zelos.

"S-Sure…" Kuchinawa said in a shaky voice. He limped over to them.

Kuchinawa lifted his hand up as if he were going to help, but instead he grabbed the piece of fabric covering his face, ripped it off, and threw it onto the floor. Then he began to untie the rope.

"Kuchinawa, I've never seen you without---"

Kuchinawa glared at him. Zelos stopped talking. They finished untying the knot, and Zelos pulled the rope off, and Sheena breathed in quickly.

"Thank you, Zelos! And Kuchinawa…" She said, turning around. When she saw Kuchinawa, she gasped and covered her mouth. His whole face was wet with tears, and his mouth curled into a frown.

"Oh---Kuchinawa, I'm sorry!" She said, crying. She ran over to him and hugged him.

Kuchinawa pushed her away. Sheena stepped back, both hurt and confused by this gesture.

"Y-You obviously like _him_ better… Leave me alone." Kuchinawa said.

"B-But! Kuchinawa, we can still be friends---!"

"If you don't love me… I don't want to have anything to do with you."

Sheena clenched her fists and put them up to her face. She began to cry even harder.

"Have a heart!" Zelos yelled. "She still wants to be your friend after all of this!"

"That's just not enough…"

"You can't force her to love you!"

Kuchinawa stopped talking, and picked up the piece of cloth off the ground, and tied it back onto his face. Sheena desperately reached out a hand to Kuchinawa, but he swatted it away. He started to walk rather weakly towards the room entrance.

"Please…" Sheena sobbed.

Kuchinawa stopped.

"Don't hate me…" She said.

He turned around slowly.

"I don't—I don't hate you, Sheena. I just… I don't know what to think…"

"Why can't we be friends---?"

"It hurts too much…"

"Wh-What?"

"Trust me… It'll cause more pain than it will comfort."

"But…!"

"You don't know what it feels like to be rejected. Just seeing your face—it… It hurts."

Sheena paused.

"I-If you want it that way… If it really makes you feel better to never see me again…"

"I'm sorry if you don't understand, but—It really will."

Sheena stopped talking and looked down at the ground, now she was crying hysterically. She took quick, uneven breaths in between sobs. She buried her face in her hands, and collapsed to the ground. Zelos was watching, and seeing Sheena cry this hard made him start to cry.

Kuchinawa limped to the entrance without looking back at her. He then disappeared through the opening. Sheena watched him the whole time until she couldn't see him anymore. When he was gone, she quickly ran over to Zelos and hugged him again.

"I-I'm so sorry…" Zelos said in an uneven voice.

"Please… D-Don't be, none of this is your fault." Sheena said, shaking.

Zelos sighed.

"Do you think we should head back?"

Sheena stopped hugging him, looked at him, and nodded. They started walking, and Sheena looked over at his arm. The whole bottom half of it was drenched in blood.

"Oh--Oh my God! I didn't know it was that bad!"

"What is…?" Zelos said. He had forgotten all about it.

"Your arm---!"

"Oh, that…" Zelos said, and he looked down at it. "Woah…"

"Are you going to be okay?" Sheena said, looking at the wound, which was still bleeding.

"Yeah… Yeah…" Zelos said. He started to feel a bit sleepy all of a sudden.

"You're loosing a lot of blood… We should wrap it up…" Sheena said. Zelos couldn't understand anything else that she was saying, and his eyes became heavy. He felt himself fall backwards, and his vision blacked out.

"Zelos!" Sheena screamed, catching him before he fell. She softly placed him on the ground, and put her ear to his chest. She could still hear his heartbeat, and he was still breathing. He'd just fainted. But, if he lost any more blood, he could die.

"Okay, I just need to cover the wound up…" She said, pulling apart her left glove, creating a bandage. She slowly wrapped it around his wound, and tied it up. The bleeding stopped immediately. "Perfect."

She let him rest, and after an hour or so, Zelos opened his eyes.

"Hey! Can you hear me?"

"Wha-?" Zelos said, sitting up. He looked over at the bandage.

"The bleeding stopped after I put it on."

"Phew… I thought I was a goner there for a second…"

"It was a close one."

"Yup." Zelos said, and scratched the side of his head.

"Alright, we should head back. Don't you think everyone's a bit worried?" Sheena said, standing up.

"Yeah..." Zelos said, looking up at her.

Sheena held out a hand so she could help him up, and Zelos took it. With her help, Zelos stood up. They started to walk, and Zelos limped a little.

"Did he get your leg, too?"

"What? No, that battle just really took it outta me…"

"Oh… I-I'm really sorry that I caused you all this trouble…"

"Sheena. I would do it all again in a heartbeat." Zelos said, and smiled. Sheena smiled back.

They continued to walk for a long while along the staircase. Sheena had to help Zelos up the steepest steps, but they eventually made it out. They both popped their heads out of the trapdoor, and the sunlight almost blinded them.

"Wow… We were in there for a while, weren't we?" Zelos said.

"Yeah… I didn't think I would ever see sunlight again…" Sheena said, almost breaking down in tears again.

"You didn't think I would come and save you?"

"I didn't, no… But know I knew better." Sheena said, and looked at Zelos. Zelos smiled at her.

They stepped out of the trapdoor completely, and headed for the front door of Orochi's house. Zelos knocked on the door. They both heard heavy footsteps that got louder and louder. Regal opened the door very quickly.

Regal gasped very loudly. "WELCOME!" He screamed.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm actually kind of happy to see you---" Zelos said.

"WELCOOOOOOOOOOOOME!"

"Uhh…" Sheena said.

"Welcome to---!"

"Regal! Leave the poor person alone!" Presea said, pulling him away from the door. "Oh!" Presea said in surprise. "You're back!"

Everyone must've heard Presea say this, because they all rushed to the front door.

"I'm so glad you're both okay! We were all worried sick!" Collette said.

"I MADE TEA!" Raine screamed.

Genis pushed through all of them and said in a soft voice. "Hey, Zelos, didja kiss her?"

Sheena's eyes got wide and she blushed.

"H-Hey! You brat---!" Zelos said.

"GENIS! BAD BOY! YOU NEED A SPANKING!" Raine screamed, dragging him away.

"NOOOOOOOO!"

"I MADE CHEESE!" Regal said, holding out a boiling pan of it.

"N-No, thanks…" Zelos said.

"You want some?" Regal said, holding it out to Sheena.

"No…"

"MORE FOR ME!"

"Oh, come on, everyone, let them in…" Collette said, pushing everyone to the side. Sheena and Zelos walked inside, and Collette closed the door.

"PARTAAAAAY!" Regal screamed.

"NO!" Presea yelled.

"It could be a CHEESE party! EVERYBODY LOVES---!"

"NOO!"

"Awwwww…"

**THE END!**

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YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY! I hope you all enjoyed this fic!

-joins everyone and waves a Sheelos flag-


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